I
have been blessed with many opportunities as a future elementary education
teacher to work in different classrooms and observe different teachers. What a learning experience that is because
every student is different and every classroom operates differently.
I
want to begin by saying I personally have struggled with classroom management
during my field experiences. Due to
that, I have taken interest in researching classroom management strategies. Pinterest has provided me with some really wonderful ideas therefore, I want to share a few of my favorites.
1. Brain Breaks
If there is one thing that I have noticed in all the classrooms that I have observed, it is that elementary students cannot focus nor sit still for extended amounts of time. Children need breaks to move or what is known as brain breaks. Brain breaks give students time to get up and move. Often times they are short activities that only last a few minutes. Children love being able to get up and they often have a lot of fun doing these short activities.
2. Classroom Rewards
Children love to be rewarded. This strategy actually became one of my favorite due to my current field experience. My teacher uses this strategy with her students. Children love this strategy and they really get excited.
3. Classroom Jobs
In every classroom that I have observed that utilizes the classroom jobs strategy, the students love it. From my observation, it seems as though it allows students to feel like they are a vital part of the classroom. I feel that it makes the students more open to learning and actually more respectful while teaching them responsibilty. This strategy also avoids chaos in the classroom.
Wow! This is great information and very helpful for others. That first year, I struggled with my 24 fifth graders in Little Rock, AR. They did back flips, got into fist fights, and were in constant confusion the first three months. Then suddenly, over night things began to change. The school secretary gave me a pet hampster for my classroom. Children could earn petting priveledges for good behavior. I also had a computer station which was quite a novelty in 1996. Students could also earn time on the computer. One thing that is important--use rewards for each day's behavior. Don't try to save up points for end of week---kids forget why that didn't earn points and missing out doesn't mean anything if you can't remember why.
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